Level 2
by watchitstark
Summary: Hermione wants to carry on her mastery and Minerva wants to help - but they're both keeping secrets. HG/MM it's pretty fluffy.


"Leave her alone," Harry murmured distractedly, faintly aware of Ron attempting to get a rise out of Hermione.

"She started it," he muttered back, bitterly.

"Not returning your feelings does not mean she's asking for you to be an idiot," Draco said quietly, not really intending for the others to hear. The four of the were out for what was supposed to be a peaceful lunch, just a quick catch-up to see what was going on with the others.

"Anyway, so this was fun. Same time, same place, in about a month?" Hermione said brightly, attempting to ignore the way that Ron and Draco managed to continuously put a dampener on things.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it," Harry said dutifully, kicking the other two so that they nodded and said yes.

"Well I have to get back to the castle, Minerva's left me a ton of papers to mark."

"Hmm hopefully she's left you a love letter with them," Draco teased, ignoring the way that Hermione blushed and rolled her eyes. "You two really need to wise-up and talk to each other, this is more than a little ridiculous."

"It's only a crush," she said defensively, playing with her napkin. "A seven year long crush, admittedly, but that's all it can be."

"You don't even know that. McGonagall hasn't taken an apprentice in twenty years, she must see something special in you, more than you just being the smartest witch of our age. She knew she's have to spend at least three years with you, so she must have known that you two would get on."

"You've just refined your arguments from all the other times we've had this conversation," she laughed. "I know my first three years are almost up but if I fail then I'll have to stay for another year and how awkward would that be?"

"Hermione you could have taken the mastery exam like two years ago and passed, even McGonagall says so."

"Look, I know how happy you two are together, and that you want that happiness for me, but this could go really badly and potentially affect my future."

Draco sighed. "While we do believe gay love is the answer to everything, we also don't believe you when you say that if she refused you it would affect your future in the Transfiguration field. She's a grown woman, one who was probably very attractive back in the day, and I'm sure she's had many students profess their love to her."

"Well then I'm just one of many, great," she hugged. "You two aren't going to convince me," she smiled softly. "Now I have to get back, look after yourselves, all three of you. Who knows where I'd be without my boys."

The quartet exchanged goodbyes and then Apparated away.

"I passed!" Hermione exclaimed with a grin as she skidded to a stop in Minerva's office, out of breath because she'd sprinted through the castle.

"You did more than pass, if the letter I was sent was anything to judge by."

"Apparently I got full marks but I can't have done, because the only other person who got full marks first try was you."

"I've obviously taught you well," Minerva smiled as Hermione threw herself onto the sofa in front of the fire, then stood up to join her, pushing the other woman's feet off the end of the sofa so that she could sit down.

"So what now?" Hermione questioned after a long moment.

"With your grade you could apply for almost anything, even a lot of places that would have been looking for a level 2 mastery. It truly is up to you."

"What did you do?"

"I travelled around Europe, I spent quite a long time in Sweden actually, and then Albus said he had an opening so I came back."

"Have you ever wanted to do anything else?" Hermione asked softly, seizing upon this rare moment of candor.

"I was going to write a book on Transfiguration theory at one point, but I've never had time."

"I'd like to write a book," she sighed, fiddling with the bottom of her blouse absentmindedly.

"You could. Your novel-length essays are proof that you could," she chuckled.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Hermione laughed and sat up, tucking her legs under herself. "I don't know if there's anything I want to do for the rest of my life. I just want to keep on learning."

"Then do your level 2 straight away. Most people don't, but I personally know you could do it and I would be prepared to teach you."

"You'd be prepared to spend the next three years with me?" she asked in disbelief, smiling a little at the thought.

"Of course, you're a joy to teach and I will gladly help you in whatever endeavor you choose. If that means that I teach you for the next three years, if that is what you want, then I will happily do so," she smiled. "It also means I can carry on making you do a lot of my marking," they laughed, then sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

"Is it okay if I think about this for a while?"

"Of course," she smiled. "Everyone will be dying to hear how you did, go tell them," Hermione smiled gratefully and bade her goodbye, still smiling as she left the room.

"I think we both know why you offered to help her," Albus spoke up softly, looking intently at Minerva over his infamous half-moon spectacles.

"Albus I don't want to talk about this," she sighed tiredly and went back to her desk, going back to the pile of correspondence she had to answer.

"Regardless of whether she returns your feelings, and I believe that she does, you should tell her before you teach her for another three years. You know as well as I do that as it stands this is not appropriate."

"Albus, no one can fire me for having feelings that I cannot control for a student that is of age. Plenty of people have slept with their apprentices and I'm not even doing that."

"I still believe you should tell her."

"I'm not brave enough," she sighed. "I suppose it turns out I'm not a very good Gryffindor after all."

"Hermione you can't be taught by her for another three years without telling her. now is the time, now is the only time, that you guys can do something about this."

"You say that like she feels the same!" she responded frustratedly, head bobbing in Harry's fireplace; as soon as she got back to her quarters she had emergency fire-called her best friend.

"Well I really do think that she does. You do realise that she's never offered to tutor someone through their Level 2, right?"

"While that may be true I don't think-"

"Hermione, everyone else know," Draco interrupted gently. "We've all seen the way that you two gaze at each other, and quite frankly we're all just confused as to why you're not married yet."

"Pfft I do not gaze -" she was cut off by the glare the blonde sent her way. "Okay maybe I do a little bit. But I can't tell her, that is the worst idea I've ever heard."

"You're panicking because you know that you should," Harry observed, smiling. "What is the worst that could happen? She's surprised and it's a little awkward for a few days. But you ought to tell her before you start another three years as her apprentice."

"I'll think about it," she sighed. "I should probably head down to dinner, thank for all of the help you didn't give me."

"No problem," Harry laughed, waving as she became aware of the pain in her kneecaps, standing and wincing, shaking the ash out of her hair.

A few days later Hermione found herself stood staring at the gargoyle, debating whether to go through with this or not."

"Are you going to go up? I know you know the password so if you could get on with it," the gargoyle moaned, interrupting her thought process.

"I'm making a hard decision," she snapped back.

"Oh excellent, are you finally going to tell our venerable leader about your feelings for her so I don't have to watch the two of you strop around the castle any more?"

"How did you-?"

"The entire castle knows, there's about four different betting pools going around based on the conditions in which one of you will finally admit to your huge crushes on each other," he said conversationally.

Hermione sighed. "I'm not sure Minerva would approve of gambling, but alright let me up. Athena," she sighed again as she stepped onto the moving staircase, pausing again in front of the wooden door, before raising a shaking hand to knock softly, entering as soon as she heard a faint "come in". The sight of Minerva at her desk, quill in hand, was uniquely calming to the younger woman, reminding her that even as she had spent the last three days having a crisis and hiding in her room, the rest of the world had continued to function. She'd been acting like a teenage girl with her first crush, which she supposed in some ways, she was.

"Minerva, good evening," she greeted with a smile, sitting in the chair in front of her desk, the one she usually avoided because it made her feel like a child.

"Hermione, I've barely seen you over the last few days," she laid her quill down and focused her attention on Hermione, smiling at the welcome interruption.

"I've been doing some soul searching and deliberating what I want to do for the next few years. I have decided, but I also feel that there is something I should tell you before I accept your offer."

"Go on," she said warily, eyebrow raised.

"Simply put," she took a deep breath. "I would like to ask you out on a date."

"You… Want to ask me out on a date?" she questioned in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Well we can skip the date if you want…" she laughed, though it was somewhat shaky.

"You do realise how much older I am than you?"

"Of course."

"And that the press will have a field day?"

"Don't they always."

"And that-"

"Minerva don't torture the poor girl," Albus interrupted, the portraits having given up feigning sleep so as to pay proper attention to the conversation happening below.

"Albus don't interrupt," she sighed, though there was a relaxed air about her, one that was not echoed in the tense line of Hermione's shoulders.

"You haven't actually argued that you don't feel the same," she pointed out.

"While I was making you aware of the facts, I wasn't going to lie to you," she smirked, a tiny bit.

"I…" Hermione's eyes widened and a slow smile spread across her face. "So say if I, hypothetically of course, were to kiss you, you wouldn't object?"

"I wouldn't think so, no," she smiled, laughing as Hermione quickly circled the desk, leaning over to kiss the older woman, Minerva leaning forwards and tilting her chin up, smiling into the kiss.

"I still expect you to take me on that date," she murmured later, still smiling.

"Whatever you want," Hermione promised easily, pressing their lips together again.

_**A/N: I kinda just wrote this as an attempt to get back into writing fic because I haven't written very much recently. Regardless of that it is just supposed to be a cute piece and I'm not 100% solid in Minerva's characterisation if I am completely honest. This is also the least original plot in the entire world. But it happened so here.**_


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